Father Robert L. Tuzik, 77, died April 19. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former associate pastor of St. Colette Parish in Rolling Meadows, now part of St. Clare of Assisi Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Tuzik attended St. Tarcissus School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College of Loyola University and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1973. In addition to his master of divinity, he earned a licentiate in sacred theology from Mundelein Seminary and a doctorate in liturgy from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Father Tuzik served as assistant pastor of St. Mary Parish, Lake Forest, and as associate pastor of St. Linus, Oak Lawn; St. Zachary, Des Plaines; St. Joseph, Libertyville; and St. Colette. Father Tuzik was also pastor of St. Emily, Mount Prospect.

He served as adjunct faculty at Mundelein Seminary, teaching liturgy to seminarians and deacon candidates, and as a consultant to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Office for Divine Worship. He served also as a special consultant to the late Cardinal Francis George.

Deacon Richard Warfield, 83, died April 17. He was ordained in 1979 and served in a variety of ministries.

Deacon Warfield was a U.S. Army veteran and retired Chicago police officer. He served as a deacon with the Chicago Police chaplaincy unit, at the Ford City Catholic Center and in pastoral care at Little Company of Mary Hospital, Evergreen Park.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Lou; his son, Richard; three grandchildren; and his brother, Charles.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Antonetta (Philomena) Martinka, 86, died April 13 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, she professed vows with the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters in 1960.

Sister Antonetta’s ministry was dedicated to teaching in Illinois and Wisconsin. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Luke School, River Forest, and taught and served as business officer at Trinity High School, River Forest. She also taught at St. Zachary School, Des Plaines, and St. Giles School, Oak Park, and she served as business officer at Divine Providence Convent, Des Plaines.

She is survived by her sister, Marie Gibbs; and her brother, Rudy Martinka.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Catherine (Alberto) St. Martin, 92, died April 19 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Minneapolis, Sister Mary Catherine made her religious profession in 1953. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest, and a master’s degree in curriculum and administration from Saint Xavier University.

She taught and was principal at St. Giles, Oak Park, and taught at St. Louis de Montfort, Oak Lawn; St. Thomas the Apostle; Epiphany; and St. Martin de Porres High School, Waukegan. She also was principal of St. Thomas More School.

Sister Mary Catherine also ministered as an administrator, assistant prioress and pastoral caregiver.

She is survived by a sister, Clare Foley.

Father John P. Lucas, 82, died April 5. A retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, he was the former judicial vicar with the Court of Appeals of the Province of Chicago.

Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Immaculata High School in Kansas, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Father Lucas was ordained to the priesthood in 1968, at St. Peter Basilica in Rome. He served as assistant pastor of St. Cyprian, River Grove; associate pastor of St. Edmund, Oak Park; and as judge at the Metropolitan Tribunal and at the Court of Appeals of the Province of Chicago.

Father Michael Bradley knew Father Lucas since 1993.

“I began working at the tribunal and got to work with him,” Bradley said. “He studied in Rome for his degree in canon law. He was fair-minded in applying the law and had a real gift in combining his canon law knowledge and expertise in pastoral ministry.

“When he had to decide on a possible marriage annulment, he did it with great deal of concern for all parties. They were not just cases for him, they were people.”

After retirement, Father Lucas continued to serve on appeal cases as the adjutant judicial vicar in charge of the Court of Second Instance of the Metropolitan Tribunal until his death.

Father George J. Kane, 99, died April 7. At the time of his death, he was the longest tenured priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor emeritus of Church of the Holy Spirit in Schaumburg, now part of St. Gregory of Nyssa Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Kane attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1951.

He served as assistant pastor of Holy Rosary (113th Street), Holy Cross (65th Street), St. George (Wentworth Avenue) and St. Hubert, Hoffman Estates. He taught at St. Mary of the Lake University/Mundelein Seminary (1966-1972) and he was the founding pastor of Church of the Holy Spirit.

Between his assignments at Holy Cross and St. George parishes, Father Kane served as a U.S. Air Force chaplain from 1959 to 1963. He served in South Korea, ministering to fighter pilots preparing to go to Vietnam.

Father John Hoffman knew Father Kane since his seminary internship at Father Kane’s parish, more than 50 years ago.

“He was a great homilist, wicked smart and had a great sense of humor,” Hoffman said.

He added that Father Kane  was a supporter of women’s participation in the church and the Second Vatican Council.

“He believed in it, he believed it made such a difference for the laity, parishes and the church,” Hoffman noted. “He believed in Christ’s way of life for us and that it is Jesus Christ we seek, as Pope John Paul II said.”

During a January 2024 interview with Chicago Catholic, Father Kane looked back on his ministry in the archdiocese and impact of the Second Vatican Council. “I was hoping we would get away from this ultra-authoritarian mode the church had, and get into the way of Vatican II,” he said. “That struck me as a life-giving kind of a vision, and it correlated with the best I had in my seminary training.”

Father Patrick J. Lee, 74, died April 14. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish on Belmont Avenue.

Born in Evergreen Park, Father Lee attended Marist High School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College of Loyola University and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1976.

He served as associate pastor of St. Christopher, Midlothian; St. Matthias; St. Giles, Oak Park; and Immaculate Conception Parish on North Park Avenue.

Father Lee served as pastor of both Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph parishes on North Orleans Street from 1987 to 2013, laying the groundwork for the combination of the two parishes, which merged in 2016. Before retiring, he served as pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for nine years.

He was a faculty member at Quigley Preparatory Seminary from 1979 to 1986.

Father John Hoffman, who met Father Lee in the seminary, remembered his friend as a deeply spiritual priest who had a clear focus on ministering to the people in the parish.

“Especially when folks were ill, he would make visits to the hospitals. He was very loyal to the Church, and was not reluctant to challenges. He prayed often for the LGBTQ community.”

Father Lee was an advocate for the Archdiocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach, or AGLO Chicago. During a Mass in 2023 that celebrated the 35th anniversary of the ministry, AGLO recognized Lee for his support since the group’s inception.

Adrian Dominican Sister Marilyn (Therese Noel) Francoeur, 88, died Feb. 22 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Adrian, she was in the 70th year of her religious life.

Sister Marilyn spent 30 years ministering in education in Michigan, Illinois and the Dominican Republic. She also was an administrator and ministered in her congregation’s information office and archives.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was assistant treasurer (1977-1978) and treasurer (1978-1984) at Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette, and was administrator of the Parable Conference in River Forest.

She is survived by a sister, Herline Harm, and two brothers, Douglas and John Francoeur.

Viatorian Father Daniel T. Nolan, 76, died April 4 in Wheeling.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he attended Bishop Gorman High School in Nevada, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He pronounced his first vows in 1973 and was ordained in 1983.

Father Nolan graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. He earned a bachelor’s in secondary education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.

He moved to Illinois for the Viatorian novitiate and taught at St. Viator High School, Arlington Heights (1972-1973), and attended classes at Loyola University Chicago (1973-1974). He then taught and was a school administrator in Rock Island, Illinois.

After ordination, he ministered in schools and parishes in Nevada. From 2002 to 2007, he was director of vocations (2002-2007), director of mission appeals (2002-2007) and director formation (2004-2007) for the Chicago Province in Arlington Heights.

After his service to the province, he worked in campus ministry and hospital pastoral care, including as a chaplain at Presence St. Joseph Hospital (2014-2017).

He moved to the Province Center in Arlington Heights in 2022, and to Addolorata Villa in Wheeling earlier this year.

He is survived by his brother, William Nolan.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Eleanor “Ellie” (Francesco) Hoffmann, 91, died April 7, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Lincoln, Illinois, she professed vows with the Sinsinawa Dominicans in 1954.

Sister Ellie’s ministry was dedicated to teaching, pastoral care and preaching in Wisconsin and Illinois. She served the Sinsinawa Dominican congregation as vicaress provincial of the eastern province and in vocation ministry and ministered as spiritual director and retreat leader at the Dominican Motherhouse, Sinsinawa Mound. She was a mentor for many Dominican Associates of Sinsinawa.

She is survived by a brother, Father Robert Hoffmann.